Metal stud and the like for buildings



Sept. 15, 1936. H. w. HAHN METAL STUD AND THE LIKE FOR BUILDINGS Filed NOV. 20, 1934 JNVENToR. Zd

M4 A TToRNEY Patented Sept. 15, 1936 U-Nrrenv srrAres V METAL s'rUnAND. THE une Fon.

BUILDINGS Harry W. Hahn, Grendel@ ealif. Y

Application, November 20, 193e,l Serial Nn. 753,907v

5 Claims;

This invention relates. in general tobuilding construction and morev particularly to an improved type of stud, brace. ratter or other member adapted to beused for forming the trame of a structure, and the principal object` of my invention is to: provide a simple, economical andl integralv member oi light weight, so7 designed as. to reduce the waste in materials to, aminimum and yet provide a maximum of strength and.. durabilf ity.

Heretofore structural members. of the. character and for thepurpose mentioned have been stamped out of sheet metal and formed so as to provide rigidity and light-weightbut therlatter characteristie has occasioned the perforation of the members to such an.. extent that the: waste metal isy substantial. and the cost of the. product far too high for general use. v

An object, therefore, oil my invention is. to provide a structural member which will possess all of the advantages of the more costly product and yet so. econo-mise in theuse of materials as to. render the product suiciently cheap for general use. To this end Iv prefer toV form the members of channeiled or. sheet material of uniform width by slitting strips of metal at uniformly spaced points diagonally of the strips and thereafter expanding the slitted strips to an extent corresponding to the desired width of the structuralV members.

Thus, the members when expanded will be formed with a pair of parallel side rails and a plurality of parallel transverse bars cross con-I necting the rails at uniform distances thrm-lgh-l out the length of the members. Preferably, the cross bars are disposed at right angles to the siderails soas to afford maximum rigidity and strength, and the rails and barsmayY beoi such cross section as will best contribute to thel rigidity and strength of the members.

The current trend of building construction being toward fire-prooi and earthquake structures, structural members embodying my invention will find ready adoption in large and small buildings alike, for forming practically all of the members of building frames, such as studs, sills, headers, rafters, braces and the like.

Other objects may appear as the description progresses.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a preferred form of invention, subject, however, to modification, abbreviation and addition, Within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit thereof. In said drawing:

(Cf. 'I2-115) Fig. 1 is a. plan view of astrip of sheet metal diagonally slitted preparatory to the expansion thereof' for providing the completed structural member;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the expanded structural member embodying my invention;

Eig-. 3- is. a transverse section of the same on line. 3-3, of Fig, 2;'

Fig. 4 isI a cross sectional view, on line 1 -rot Fig. 3, of one ot the transverse bars. of the struc.- tural member;

Fig. 5: is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a building frame embodying several of, the structural members assembled in a suitable man.-

ner;

Fig.. 6 is. a fragmental transverse section of a portion. of abuilding foundation and frame, show ing a suitable method of anchoring the building. frame in a. cementitiousfoundation;

Fig.k '7 is a perspective View oi a portion oi a building frame showing the Structuralmembersv arranged as. diierent. elements ofr the frame.

Fig... 5` is, a perspective viewof a. reinforced wall structure: embodying my improved structural members.

Preferably,J structural members embodying my invention are formed of elongated strips of sheet metal M, shown in. Fig. l, oi uniform width throughout. their length, the. strips of metal being moved through a. power press carrying dies by means of. which diagonal slits l, I, etc. are provided. The slits l are uniformly spaced apart and their extremities are longitudinally alined on thestrips M substantially inwardly ci the. edges. of the. strip, thereby providing marginal portions. 2 and. 3 inwardly of the edges. and outwardly of the slitsr and diagonal portionsl 4., 4, etc. between the slits I, l, etc.

When initially formed as. shown in Fig. 1, the sltted strips of. material M are expanded te a desired width, into the form shown in Fig. 5, thereby converting the marginal portions 2 and 3, respectively into side rails 5 and 6 and the diagonal portions 4 into transverse bars 1. If desired, in order to provide additional strength the rails E and 6 may be formed with inwardly or outwardly bent flanges 8 at their edges, as sho-wn in Fig. 5, or said flanges may be omitted.

The transverse bars 1 may be at or ribbed as indicated at 9 in Figs. 4 and 5. In the expansion operation whereby the metal strips M are transformed into the completed structural members the metal is stretched laterally and also to a certain extent longitudinally so as to form the right angular bars 'l from the diagonal portions 4. Thus,

. portions Zand 3.

' with the bars T.

assuming that the portion 3 is expanded relative to the portion 2, as shown in Fig. 1, the portion 3 will move upwardly from and slightly to the right relative to portion 2 so that the diagonal portions 4 will be disposed at right angles to the When so formed, end portions defined by slits Ia and marginal lines I0, II and broken' lines I2 at each end of the strip of material will project outwardly of the endsY I3, I3 and are cut away on the lines I2, I2, so that the edges I2 and I3 will lie in the same transverse planes. Obviously, the only waste of metal is that cut away, as described, and the amount is inconsequential as compared to the total metal in theY strip from which the completed member is formed.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the side rails 5 and 6 are disposed in oifset transverse planes and extend in opposite directions from their junctions substantially less metal and are correspondingly lighter than other types of members which are perforated to pro-vide apertures through which electrical conduits and other elements of buildingY frames are extended. The form of member herein shown provides a maximum opening between each pair of cross bars 'I and their horizontal disposition readily permits of the extension of braces, headers, sills and other members through the openings and said members are supported on the cross bars, as shown in Fig. 7.

The structural members of the design described are also adapted for other uses,4as for instance in the construction of walls, buttresses, etc., as shown in Fig. 8, in which the structural members are laid horizontally in a cementitious structure 3I at diiferent elevations with vertical pipes 32 threaded through the openings of the members as the concrete is poured, thereby providing a strong reinforcement for the structure. Other uses will be apparent to those skilled in the art of building structures.

The type of structural member shown lends itself readily to large and small buildings alike and the members of a frame may be lashed, riveted, bolted or welded at the joints, and the lower ends Vof the studs anchored in a cementitious foundation I4 as shown in Fig. 6.V InV such case, a wall may be framed by erecting a plurality of metal studs at suitably spaced points on the foundation in which a suitable channel has been previously formed,`then laying a horizontal member upon the lowermost bars 'I of the studs and 1ashing or otherwise securing the members together at their junctions. Thereafter, cement is poured into the channel of the foundation around the vertical and horizontal members and the bottom of the frame thus formed is imbedded in the foundation. n

The type of structural member shown and described herein is also particularly adapted for The expanded members haveV VVotherwise formed.

What I claim, is:

1.r A structural member formed of an integral sheet of metal of uniform thickness slitted diagonally between the margins thereof at uniformly spaced points andV expanded laterally so as to provide a pair of parallel side rails oiTset one from` the other and transverse bars integral with and cross connecting said rails, said rails having flanges formed thereon at their outer margins and extended in opposite directions.

2. A structural member formed of a flat strip of material of uniform widthY throughout its length and slitted at a plurality of uniformly spaced points and expanded so that the marginsY thereof will form side rails disposed in parallelism and the intermediate portions between said slits will form cross bars integral with said rails, said rails having flanges bent at right angles and eX- tending in opposite'directions.

3. A structural member formed of an integral sheet of metal and slitted diagonally at uniformly spaced points and expanded laterally so as to provide side rails disposed in transversely off-Set planes, oppositely extended flanges being formed on said rails, and aY plurality of transverse bars connecting said rails.

4. A structuralV member comprising: a pair of parallel side rails disposed in olf-set transverse planes and having oppositely bent VflangesY and a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse bars cross connecting and integral with said rails.

5. A structure comprising: a cementitious foundation. av wall superposed thereonand formed of a plurality. of sections, each formed of a single piece of metal and longitudinally cut 'and expanded laterally so as to provide a pair of parallel marginal rails and a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse bars connecting said rails, the lower ends of said sectionsV being imbedded in said foundation, horizontally disposed similar sections supported on the lowermost bars of said rst mentioned sections and also imbedded in said foundation, and other similar sections disposed at angles relative to and supported on the transverse bars of said first mentioned sections and secured thereto.

HARRY W. HAHN. "0 

